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I am a long time fan of the conspiracy theories, and it's kind of nostalgic to see some of this stuff so long relegated to the tin-foil hat crowd get an open forum on a relatively mainstream sight like Salon.com.
That said, I have to agree that this is all sound and fury representing nothing. The current massive inertia in Washington is a stone cold, absolute guarantee that no action will be taken.
Remember this: Politics is about power. As such, Main Core and all of the heinous domestic spying/Big Brother/surveillance state capabilties is not going to be seen as a scourge to be stamped out. It is and will be seen as a trophy to be won.
The Dems don't want to get rid of it. They want wrest control of it from the Repubs.
And as long as we are taking a peek down the Rabbit Hole, let's discuss the implications of a program like Main Core. Anyone here who thinks they are of legitimate interest to the government, raise your hand . . . that's right, they are only interested in deciphering the works of GoodCelery! and BeBop-O.
So who are they listening to? People far more interested in burning this motherfucker to the ground . . . AND (far more importantly) people with the power to change things. This is to say politicians.
Look at the scandals of recent years that have come to light. I think most notably of Eliot Spitzer, but you can also consider Larry Craig and Mark Foley as candidates. Wouldn't "Main Core" have made it much easier to connect the dots on these particular assholes? Especially Spitzer and Foley with their technology based sins.
Think of their careers as the corpses strung up alongside the road to Washington. Warnings to all the people who have been informed of what is known about them. The Administration (with its long, deep roots that predate W's sobriety by years) is not afraid to lay people low, even members of the Republican Party.
Look at the turnarounds by major Democratic figures. Pelosi's creepy "off the table" remarks coming out almost immediately after her designation as Speaker. Obama's violent pivot on all things FISA.
Even this Democratic Convention Tote Bag nonsense could be something they are being forced to do by something more than mere money. After all, a little fashion accessory is gutting the party's credibility in some circles.
The thing about conspiracy theories, what makes them so much fun to discuss over coffee or strong drink, is that there are always more dots to connect. You can always ask who watches the watchers and who pulls the puppetmaster's strings.
Is some of it true? Most likely a hell of a lot of it is true.
Can we confirm it? Not in a lock stock and admissable evidence way.
Will perpetrators ever come to justice? Don't be daft.
However, when investigating, when trying to cut through to the heart of this savage beast, names must be named. Stands must be taken. These things can only be confronted by people of tremendous courage willing to risk their lives for the truth.
Such people no longer exist.
A fluff piece like this, so poorly substantiated and so vaguely attributed (some paragraphs were so pronoun heavy I lost track of who said what) does nothing to substantiate these speculations.
In fact, long time conspiracy theorists will recognize in this many of the hallmarks of a classic disinformation campaign: plenty of juicy bits to become urban legends, couched in a completely useless melange of "he said the she said that an unnamed official from a certain office which will remain nameless said..." drivel.
This is a strawman argument that will be savaged among those who bother to take note of it. Still it was nice to see this stuff out there again.
Maybe I'll take another dive down the rabbit hole for old times sake.
